For Richard and Tatiana Keep, the outlook is rosy. The couple’s new-look family home is a clever reorganisation of a brick 1930s house on a prominent corner of Dartmouth Park Conservation Area, with its top floor living accommodation and terraces enjoying sumptuous views out across Highgate Hill.

Three new zinc boxes create top floor living accommodation and roof terraces, capping the original brick 1930s converted house on a prominent corner of Dartmouth Park Conservation Area. The previous house sat uncomfortably on this corner amongst much grander houses. New roof extensions were located to increase the coherence of the corner plot with all new elements built in zinc making a clear distinction between old and new. The addition gives the appearance of two three-storey houses facing Laurier Road and a two-storey house facing York Rise. The living accommodation was moved to the top floor to maximise day/sunlight and take advantage of fantastic views of surrounding streets and Highgate Hill. The finned detailing of the facades perform a number of functions: to orient each zinc box to address the respective streets, to give the facade a rhythm which nods to the neighbouring houses, and to provide privacy from long street views. Glazed sections of fins line with the existing windows beneath, tying the new with the host building beneath. The fins are specifically angled to open up the best views from the rooms.